Shellshock

BoomBoomBoom! They
go
As the soldier
shakes with fear

Back and forth
he rolls
Confused and
in turmoil

Screams all
around
Dying men and
boys

The screams won’t
go
They burrow
deep inside

Helpmehelpmehelpme
he mutters
But no-one hears
his rambling

A man falls
close
Half his face
gone

The soldier
screams
Inside and out
Still, he’s ignored

Somewhere he thinks
he hears pipes
Maybe from the
7th battalion?

And then he sees
one
Unarmed and playing
proudly

As bullets fly
by
He is swallowed
in the smoke

The wraith of
the piper gone
He is alone
again

As he rocks back
and forth
Back and forth,
alone and scared